Contract renewals are nowhere near as exciting as shiny new signings, but some of these guys must be the priority for their clubs this summer…
Thanks to spotrac for most of the payroll data. Salaries are given per week, with the mean salary of the top XI earners at each club provided for context.
Bukayo Saka (Arsenal): £30,000
Top XI earners’ mean salary: £109,000
Saka’s current deal expires at the end of 2024, but Arsenal have reportedly offered him an extension worth £125,000 a week, which would make him the club’s third-highest earner behind Thomas Partey (£200k) and Nicolas Pepe (£140k), though the latter is likely to be shipped out. The 20-year-old wants to stay at Arsenal but also wants to play Champions League football, which has reportedly led to a release clause sticking point.
Arsenal are understandably reluctant to include one which would allow Liverpool, Manchester City or whomever to steal him away (and they surely would if given the chance), but Saka wants to avoid being stuck should Mikel Arteta’s process not reap the requisite rewards in the not-too-distant future.
Emile Smith Rowe (Arsenal): £40,000
Mean salary: £109,000
Smith Rowe only signed his new contract in October, but his comments at the time suggest Arsenal could have offered him a 50 quid club shop voucher in lieu of a salary and he would have taken it. “If Arsenal want me for the rest of my career, then I am going to stay here forever,” the born-and-bred Gunner said having been handed the No.10 shirt.
Perhaps not the best place to be negotiating from, but lovely all the same. Reports suggest he could have earned nearly twice as much had he agreed to join Aston Villa last summer.
Edouard Mendy (Chelsea): £52,000
Mean salary: £185,000
Even before you compare him with Chelsea’s back-up, Mendy’s wage packet looks a tad light. A hero for Chelsea in their Champions League-winning campaign just over a year ago and a hero for Senegal as his penalty shoot-out stop earned them Africa Cup of Nations glory this year, Mendy is the tenth highest earner among Premier League goalkeepers, taking home half that of Manchester United’s second choice.
But it is the comparison with Kepa Arrizabalaga that makes this all a bit farcical. The Spaniard earns a whopping £155,000 a week watching a clearly superior goalkeeper from the stands. Mendy recently said he’s got “all I ever dreamed of”, but that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t have more.
Reece James…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Football365…